Influencer: a word that’s often thrown around by marketers, YouTube viewers, and Instagram followers to define someone with digital clout and online selling power.
But did you know that many internet personalities and entertainers cringe at the utterance of the term influencer? This is likely due to the perceived box they get shoved into when this title is given to them.
It’s important to remember that these internet personalities’ actions, content, and points of view connect with audiences on a very personal level. This connection (or “influence”) spreads across sponsored posts, collaborations, advertisements, and so on. Their voices are unique and powerful.
Within this wave of discussion surrounding “influencers” there are many who are breaking through in new and game-changing ways that brands and their internet hopefuls can learn a thing or two from.
So, let’s explore some of the influencers who continue to shake up the ecosystem in their own unique ways.
Shane Dawson
YouTube: 24 Million Subscribers
Influencer Overview: Shane Dawson’s first YouTube video dates back to 2011. Fast-forward to 2020 and Shane has amassed millions of YouTube subscribers with his unique point of view, self-deprecating humor, and a recent turn to long-form documentary-style collaborations with other internet personalities.
Changing the Game: While most creators were focusing on making shorter pieces of content, Shane pivoted to creating long videos—very long, by YouTube standards—ranging from 30 minutes to over an hour in length. His 104-minute Conspiracies Theories video alone currently sits at over 44.5 million views. Shane’s risky strategy continues to pay off as he taps into what his subscribers truly want to see—and then goes all in. He has been able to do what very few can, so if you want to know if long-form video can work, Shane Dawson is proof that it can.
Binging with Babish
YouTube: 6 Million Subscribers
Watch Binging with Babish YouTube
Influencer Overview: The Binging with Babish channel landed on YouTube and ramped up faster than almost any channel before it. Andrew Rea, the creator and star of Binging with Babish, only began producing his wildly popular cooking videos in 2016 and has already collected millions of subscribers. Rea’s “everyman” quality, creative approach of using movies and TV shows as his culinary inspiration, and hilarious dry wit continues to fuel his popularity.
Changing the Game: Cooking is nothing new on YouTube; however, Andrew’s rapid rise in popularity is not lost on him and his recent philanthropic set of videos called Being with Babish proves it. Being with Babish features Rea visiting fans and helping them in their time of need. Andrew Rea has (in a very direct way) shown the impact and difference an influencer can make in peoples’ lives—doing well by doing good. Well done, Andrew.
MrBeast
YouTube: 29 Million Subscribers
Influencer Overview: MrBeast is an enigma amongst creators on YouTube. His content is most known for its stunts such as filling a friend’s house with 10 million Legos (26 million views), hosting the world’s largest dodgeball game (20 million views), and destroying (and replacing) his friend’s car (30 million views). MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, is currently only 21 years old and began making YouTube videos when he was just 13. However, it is not his monumental rise that puts him on this list, but rather a movement that he began in taking ridiculous levels of “copiousness” to another level.
Changing the Game: In late 2019, MrBeast posted a new video with a lofty goal, planting 20,000,000 trees, with the help of his followers. His tree planting campaign had a very simple premise: to raise $20 million and every dollar donated would equal one tree planted. He met his goal in only 55 days via the website TeamTrees.org, and donations continue to pour in. This is truly an example of what a content creator can do with a lofty idea and a community that connects with their vision.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Instagram: 170 Million Followers
Influencer Overview: As one of the biggest names in entertainment, The Rock needs no introduction. Dwayne Johnson is known much more for his Instagram content than the previous entries on this list. It might not even be fair to refer to The Rock as an influencer in the traditional sense, but the content produced by The Rock is nothing if not inspirational and influential. Johnson’s content—that is broadcast to his 170 million followers—is a combination of every workout clip, brand collaboration, and surprise appearance that any fan could ever want.
Changing the Game: Johnson has broken the mold in a way that no other celebrity has by capturing experiences that let him truly connect with his audience as only he can. The theme running through his content is one of humility, inspiring the world to embrace hard work and extend kindness. There are endless examples of The Rock surprising fans, giving back, and showing how you are never too big to give back. Nobody does it like The Rock.
Gary Vaynerchuck
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter: 12 Million Followers
Watch Gary Vaynerchuck YouTube
Influencer Overview: Gary is one of the biggest names in marketing and entrepreneurship. With his company VaynerMedia and millions of followers across various social media platforms, the volume of content produced by GaryVee (as he is known) is unmatched. Gary’s content ranges from full-length keynotes to bite-sized hard-hitting Instagram posts and is the epitome of “working without a net.” Gary’s content hit a fever pitch when he ushered in his “document don’t create” style, encouraging anyone and everyone to document their journey as they follow their passions as a recipe for success.
Changing the Game: So how is GaryVee changing the game? He 100% doesn’t care what anyone thinks. While some influencers (understandably) have a need to be liked and to build their following, Gary practices what he preaches by being his (often brash) authentic self, giving difficult to hear but accurate advice to anyone who has the courage to ask. Gary’s mantra? Hustle, grind, put in the work every day, and be authentic and self-aware no matter your experience or age. Love him or hate him, everyone can learn a thing from GaryVee.
Good Mythical Morning/Mythical Entertainment
YouTube: 16 Million Subscribers
Watch Good Mythical Morning YouTube
Influencer Overview: Now let’s shift to something completely different. Lifelong friends Rhett and Link’s careers and popularity exploded when they started their daily morning show Good Mythical Morning. The goal was fairly simple: create a show that was silly, fun, and family friendly. Their “risk” has snowballed into something greater as they’ve amassed over 16 million subscribers on their Good Mythical Morning channel, in addition to the purchase of several other popular YouTube properties. So, what’s so special about them?
Changing the Game: Rhett and Link took their success and expanded like few others have by creating their own production studio called Mythical Entertainment. Their business savvy and audience-focused approach—their fans are known as Mythical Beasts—fuel the content that is made, including books, live concerts, multiple YouTube Red series, podcasts, and the launch of several more successful YouTube properties. For anyone who thinks that creating YouTube content is not a real career, these two guys from Buies Creek, North Carolina, just proved you wrong.
Lauren McDonald
LinkedIn: Unknown Follower Count
Influencer Overview: Not every influencer needs to tick every box or have millions of followers to change the game. Personal branding is a huge part of being a successful influencer. If you have a niche audience, you need to have a niche perspective to connect. Enter Lauren McDonald, one of the most active recruiting professionals on LinkedIn.
Changing the Game: Her active and “cut to the core” content takes the standard inspirational content route and sprinkles a bit of GaryVee on top. In short, she is authentic with a fearlessness, posting what many others think about the recruiting industry but won’t say. This approach is how she is changing the game—a willingness to speak the truth and calling out recruiting practices that are broken—with a call for recruiters to “do better.” At the same time, there is a common thread of being sympathetic to those looking to secure a career they deserve. Calling out hypocrisy amongst your cohorts is risky, but Lauren’s mix of raw truth and inspiration sets her in a class of her own.
Hanna Hart
YouTube: 2.5 Million Subscribers
Influencer Overview: As one of the YouTube OGs, Hanna Hart’s career and path to millions of subscribers began with a few drinks, a camera, and some toast…seriously. Hanna’s claim to fame is rooted in her video series My Drunk Kitchen, which is pretty much what is sounds like. What made this content successful (and hilarious) was Hanna’s unscripted quick wit while trying to cook, with no culinary skills, which usually ended up in a disaster. In short, we could all see a little of ourselves in Hanna’s kitchen failures and occasional successes.
Changing the Game: But, since these early YouTube days, Hanna has moved on to creating much more personal content, has written several books, and stared in her own TV show. Part of this more personal content began with Hanna’s video in 2012 simply entitled Coming Out, when Hanna came out to her audience as gay and discussed her experience and journey. Since then Hanna has been featured in countless videos and mainstream interviews discussing and supporting LGBTQ+ issues while maintaining a groundswell of support herself. Never be ashamed of who you are, just like Hanna Hart.
The “Perfect” Influencer
So what makes a “perfect” influencer? As you can see from our picks, there is no flawless formula one can follow to become a game-changing influencer. That being said, standing out and building an audience are more about being authentic and taking risks—without those two things there is little chance of building a following or holding “influence” from a marketing standpoint. Regardless, all those on our list have spent years molding and curating their content and finding their own “secret sauce.”
Do you have a favorite game-changing influencer that we missed? Let us know and we might add your recommendation to our next list! And if you want to find an influencer—from a micro-influencer to an online celebrity—to collaborate with your brand, contact National Positions today and we will find that perfect match for you.